I agree that quarry diving does make you appreciate tropical waters more, but if I had the choice to do it over again it would be in warm clear water. However, I will not quite the quarry diving. Without looking back I am not sure who said it but someone did mention Hawaii. The only salt water dives in my brief career were in Hawaii and I had a good time. I did not see the gigantic schools of fish or large colorful coral reefs, but I did get to see turtle and I love turtles. The dives were also very easy, or atleast they sure seemed to be to me. I have heard though that the dives on the Big Island are much better including the chance to see Mantas. If you really want to spoil yourself you could always book a trip on a live-aboard like the Kona Aggressor. 5 months from now my recomendation will probably bonaire, especially if it is half as good as everyone says it is. But like someone else mentioned shore dives may not be the best choice for new divers, but you could always hire a dive master.